2009/04/28

Sixers Lose Game 5 to Magic

The Sixers lost Game 5 in Orlando, as the Magic took a 3-2 series lead. They will have the opportunity to close out the series Thursday night here in Philly. The Sixers really continue to not play all that well, and in every game this series have had an opportunity to take control of a game, if they could just show some consistency on offense.

The first half was fairly close throughout, as most games in this series have been. The Magic were up six at halftime, but it wasn't until early in the 4th quarter when the Magic took a double digit lead. The Sixers would fight back and cut it to six, but couldn't get any closer, as the Magic closed out the game, and won 91-78. It goes without saying that the Sixers need to do better than 78 points. They need to do better than the 81 points they managed in Game 4. Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 26 points. Andre Miller had 17, and Willie Green 16 for the Sixers. Dwight Howard, who is allowed to stay in the paint for the entire shot clock, had 24 points, and 24 rebounds for the Magic. The Magic out-rebounded the Sixers 45 to 33 in this game. The Sixers never really sustained any offensive threat, scoring 20, 19, 21, and 18 respectively in the 4 quarters. They really need to find a way to jump start the offense in Game 6.

I would also like to state that for a team as good as the Magic, they complain constantly. Led by Stan Van Gundy who never stops crying about the officiating on the bench, and then claims all the Sixers do is complain. Dwight Howard is a beast in the middle, but cries every time there is any physical play around him. He also threw a cheap elbow to the head of Dalembert in the 1st quarter, which really deserved more than a technical. According to the rules of what Howard did, he should have been ejected. Because he wasn't, he could be suspended for Game 6.

The Sixers need to hope to come out and win Game 6 at home, which is a definite possibility. At that point, anything can happen in a Game 7, but the Sixers first need to win Game 6.